Ferrari leave 6 Hours of Spa with “bitter taste” despite podium finish
- Jack MacKenzie
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
The 2026 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps has left a “bitter taste” in Ferrari’s mouth according to team personnel, despite a podium finish for the No.50 car of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen.
It was a rocky start to the weekend for the trio of Ferrari 499Ps, the best-placed car in qualifying (No.50) managed 8th place, while the sister No.51 car of Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi posted a time good only for a lowly 15th.
Meanwhile, the privateer No.83 Ferrari of Phil Hanson, Robert Kubica, and Yifei Ye started the race from 13th.
Prior to Saturday’s race, Giovinazzi – who took the helm of the No.51 car in qualifying – attributed the result to problems encountered during free practice.
“We had some difficulties in the free practice sessions which did not allow us to find the ideal balance today in qualifying,” he said before the race.
As for Ferrari’s pair of LMGT3 cars, their qualifying results were mixed. The No.21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari of Alessio Rovera, François Hériau and Simon Mann picked up a sixth place starting position, while the No.54 Ferrari of Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci and Davide Rigon started in last place.
The race proved to be a disaster for the No.51 car. Having lost control under braking, the No.32 Team WRT BMW LMGT3 entry made heavy contact with the No.51 car heading into La Source (Turn 1) with just over an hour to go, destroying the latter’s radiator and forcing them into retirement.
Meanwhile – despite being hampered by a pit stop delay – the No.50 car found itself in an intense battle for second place in the closing stages of the race, with Fuoco putting the No.15 WRT BMW of Kevin Magnussen under heavy pressure until the checkered flag.
However, Magnussen held on, and the No.50 Ferrari came home in third position. The second best-placed Ferrari, the No.83 car, came home in sixth place.
Despite finishing first in class on the road, the No.21 LMGT3 Ferrari was hit with a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release during a pit stop, demoting it to fourth place. The No.54 sister car was classified in 15th.
“There’s a slight bitter taste because we interpreted the strategy well knowing we were not the favourites,” said Ferrari’s Head of Endurance Race Cars, Ferdinando Cannizzo.
“Thanks to our consistency we managed to climb back up with all the cars, we were a little unlucky with the pit stop for the No.50 and it’s a shame about the incident that put the No.51 out of the race. We collected important points for the championship, even if only with one car. Thanks and congratulations to the whole team, who stayed focused despite the adversity – now we can look ahead to Le Mans with optimism.”
Ferrari’s Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti, Antonello Coletta acknowledged the team’s strong points haul from the weekend despite its poor qualifying results and losing the No.51 car to contact.
“We are pleased to have secured a podium after an unsatisfactory qualifying session, but at the same time there is disappointment at having lost the No.51 car in an incident for which it bore no responsibility,” he said.
“The team’s strategy was impeccable, as also demonstrated by the comeback of the AF Corse No.83, and we have nothing to reproach ourselves for. We now hope to return to fighting at the front from qualifying and from the opening lap of the next race.”
Post-Spa, Ferrari sits third in the Hypercar manufacturers standings, 10 points adrift of second-placed Toyota and 17 points behind leading BMW.
In the Hypercar driver’s championship, the No.50 Ferrari sits in sixth place, one spot ahead of the championship-defending No.51 sister car. The No.83 team is currently 11th.
As for LMGT3, the No.21 Ferrari is in fifth place in the class championship, two points behind the No.33 TF Sport Corvette and two points ahead of the No.27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin. While the No.54 is 17th, with no points to its name yet.
Next time out, the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) heads to the Circuit de la Sarthe for the 94th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from the 10th to the 14th of June.
Edited by Aaron Carroll
